The Answer to Closet Clutter

There are a variety of things Americans have learned from the French, but when it comes to closets, it is not one of them. For the past two years, Jean, Zoe-Pascale, and I have lived in a ancient Maison de Village in a small country village.  Our goal was not specifically to simplify, but to live a different life that would provide balance unknown to most professional dual career couples. Simplification however comes in many forms and learning what the French have to teach us is what we were after.

French homes, many of which are hundreds of years old all have one thing in common, no closets. They just aren’t built. Gorgeous wooden armoires, tall as the ceilings, new modern creations, and cupboards are used, but not closets.

Moving into our home for year round living we had to figure out some method to handle all of the clothes, books, and work supplies we had mailed from California. We didn’t want to invest in furniture, but instead pulled upon our college day resources and nailed heavy duty antique hooks on the wall and purchased old coat racks with character for hanging clothes. This worked fine until all of our winter clothes arrived by post in large boxes. Figuring out where to put the additional clothes was one problem, but the fact that they were winter clothes, heavier, thicker, and bulkier posed another.

With no closets there is just only so much room. Trying to stuff old jeans and winter coats into the back of a closet was not a possibility, there was no closet. Hanging them on the coat racks and hooks just wouldn’t do; the weight was more than they could take – thus the reason closets were built. However, here we were and we had to figure out what to do before the hat racks tipped over and the hooks came out of the wall.